Community Foundation and Women’s Fund announce grants
Published 9:48 am Wednesday, June 19, 2019
AHOSKIE – The Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation (BHCF) and Bertie-Hertford Women’s Fund (BHWF) announced more than $13,000 in local grant awards and MC Ashe Scholarship awards at their annual meeting here June 6 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
Board members of the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation and local grant and scholarship recipients attended the annual Grants Ceremony on June 6 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ahoskie. Pictured are: (seated, from left) Carole Arrington, Ahoskie Food Pantry; Pat Byrd, Roanoke Chowan Christian Women’s Job Corps; Anna Pierce, BHCF Board member; Penny Rose, BHCF Board and Women’s Fund chair; John Tayloe, BHCF president; Agnes Powell, fundholder; and Deborah Freeman, Good Shepherd Food Pantry; (standing foreground, from left) Bill Arrington, Ahoskie Food Pantry; Toni Darden, M.C. Ashe Scholarship recipient; Jordan Harrell, BHCF Board; Cathy Wilson, BHCF Board; Lindsay Vaughan, BHCF Sec./Treas.; Marti Tyler, BHCF Board; Austine Evans, BHCF Board; Laura Beasley, BHCF Board and NCCF state Board; Zaria Hunter, M.C. Ashe Scholarship recipient; Kim Scott, MAP Community Development; Karen Ray, BHCF Board; and Norman L. Mebane, fund honoree; and (standing background, from left) Dr. Stanley Elliott, president, Roanoke Chowan Community College; Guy Holley, NC Cooperative Extension-Bertie County; Casey Owens, Bertie County YMCA; Samantha Farrow, M.C. Ashe Scholarship recipient; Louise Sharpe, MAP Community Development; and Bill Agnes, fundholder. Staff Photo by Gene Motley
Overseeing the evening were John Tayloe, BHCF board president, and Penny Rose, BHWF president.
The BHCF board first announced the creation of a newly designated fund: The Norman L. Mebane Bertie County CDL Truck Driving Scholarship.
The scholarship is named for Bertie County trucking exec Norman Mebane, who operates a local Windsor-based trucking and storage business for the motor freight transportation sector. The organization has been operating for approximately 19 years.
The scholarship fund is intended to benefit students from Bertie County pursuing CDL (commercial driver’s license) training in truck driving at Roanoke-Chowan Community College, with preference given to students who are members of the Bertie YMCA. At the ceremony, the board welcomed fundholders Agnes and Bill Powell of Powell and Stokes of Windsor. Also, on hand was Roanoke-Chowan Community College President Dr. Stanley Elliott and Bertie County YMCA Director Casey Owens, who all shared the story of the fund.
Other 2019 BHCF grant recipients include:
$760 to the MAP Community Development Corporation for the Level Up Summer Enrichment Program.
$1,000 to Good Shepherd Food Pantry of Bertie County, NC, Inc. for fresh fruit.
$1,000 to the Ahoskie Food Pantry for general operational support.
This year the Women’s Fund granted:
$2,100 to NC Cooperative Extension for the Learn to Swim program.
$2,500 to Roanoke Chowan Christian Women’s Job Corps, Inc. for the A Hand Up Not a Hand Out Program.
This year the MC Ashe Scholarship awarded more than $6,000 in scholarships to three recipients: Toni Darden, Samantha Farrow, and Zaria Hunter.
Tayloe thanked the community for its continued support of the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation.
“We are proud to support these nonprofit programs that are so vital to the community,” he said.
Rose also thanked the community for its support.
“We are grateful to the many generous individuals and organizations that have supported our work to inspire philanthropy across our community,” she said.
The Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation is an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF), part of a growing family of philanthropic funds, source of grants for local causes, and partner for donors. They have administered more than $145 million in grants since its inception.
The BHCF board advises the Bertie-Hertford Community Fund, the unrestricted community grantmaking fund, to support local needs. The competitive grants program is held on an annual basis.
In addition to Tayloe, board members include: Penny Rose (vice president), Lindsay Vaughan (secretary/treasurer), Laura Beasley, Gail Carter, Austine Evans, Anna Pierce, Karen Ray, Marti Tyler, Cathy Wilson and Wayland L. Jenkins.
Tax-deductible contributions, made payable to the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation, can be mailed to the North Carolina Community Foundation, 3737 Glenwood Ave. Suite 460, Raleigh, NC 27612. Contributions can also be made online at nccommunityfoundation.org.
The Bertie-Hertford Women’s Fund, another program of the NCCF, is a giving circle supporting charitable organizations serving women, children and families in Bertie and Hertford counties.